Grooving machines for railway sleepers



July 17, 1956 p, FAUREL ETAL 2,754,861

GROOVING MACHINES FOR RAILWAY SLEEPERS Filed March 9, 1954 2Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEI! TORS Pa fiwamzmu i 3M July 17, 1956 P. FAUREL ETAL 2,754,861

GROOVING MACHINES FOR RAILWAY SLEEPERS Filed March 9, 1954 v 2Sheets-Sheet 2 ll Fr.

: I; I ll 5 I I "W g mul INVE TORS faul aural ATTO R N EYS United StatesPatent Oflice 2,754,861 Patented July 17, 1956 2,754,861 GROOVINGMACHINES FOR RAILWAY SLEEPERS Paul Faurel and Andr Bruget,Brive-la-Gaillarde, France,

assignors to Materiel Industriel S. A., Lansanne, Switzerland, acorporation of Switzerland Application March 9, 1954, Serial No. 415,012Claims priority, application France March 10, 1953 3 Claims. (Cl.144-133) This invention relates to improved apparatus for grooving thesleepers of a roadbed of a railroad.

The rails of a railroad are supported on tie plates resting on sleepersor ties on the roadbed of a railroad. From time to time it is necessaryto re-groove the sleepers to remove the old wood at the surface of thesleepers in order to provide a firm and adequate support for the tieplates and rails.

it is an object of the present invention to provide im proved simplifiedapparatus for this purpose which is supported on the rails of therailroad and which can be operated to re-groove the sleepers or tieswhile the rails are in place on the sleepers.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus ofthe above character in which the machine tool assembly can be readilyshifted transversely to groove the sleepers adjacent each of the railsand which can be readily elevated to inoperative position so that thetool can clear the rails. In this connection the apparatus is alsoprovided with improved releasable retaining means to releasably retainthe machine tool assembly in either elevated or lowered position.

A machine embodying the invention and the manner of using the same isdescribed herein with reference being had to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a machine constructed in accordance with theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a detail view of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partially sectional front view of the machine shown in Fig.1; and

Fig. 4 is a partially sectional top view of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

On the rails, which are designated as 1 in the figures rests a lowerframe or carrier, composed of wheels 2 and of a chassis, of which thetransversal irons 3 are shown.

This lower frame allows the machine to move in the direction of thelength of the track by running its wheels 2 on the tracks.

The upper frame which is also transversal, is mounted by means of.rollers 4 in the transversal irons 3 of the under carrying frame. Hencethe upper frame can move at right-angles to the track in the directionof the sleepers which are not shown.

This upper transversal frame carries one or more toolmotor aggregates,each comprising a combustion engine 5 and a tool 6 having a verticalshaft 6a and a cutter 7 at its lower end.

By moving the upper frame at right angles to the tracks, it is possibleto bring cutter 7 from one railway track to the other. In order to dothis, the cutter must be lifted in order to be free of the railwaytracks.

The upper transversal frame has longitudinal beams 8 on which aremounted triangular frames 9 and 10. The motor-tool aggregate isconnected with it in such a way as to allow the desired verticallifting.

Between longitudinal beam 8 and tool 6 is an articulated connecting rod11. Also a connecting rod 12, which is parallel to rod 11, connects themotor with the top of the triangle formed by the junction of frames 9and 10. Connecting rod 12 is integral with elevating lever 13, withwhich it can turn.

It is obvious that the connecting rods 11 and 12 form, with their pointsof articulation, a parallelogram A-B-CD and that by moving the elevatinglever 13 counterclockwise in the direction of the arrow 14, the motorand the tool will be vertically elevated in the direction of the arrow15 in Fig. 1.

This allows tool 6 and its cutter 7 to pass over the railways if theyare shifted while in raised position.

Compression spring 16 is positioned by having one end attached to therocking axis C of the connecting rod 12 and its other end connected tolever arm 17, which is coaxial at D to the connecting rod 12, andconnected to a lever 18, called wedging lever.

In the position shown in Fig. 1, the spring 16 exerts a downwardpressure on the motor-tool aggregate and holds it in its lower workingposition.

If now, the mentioned aggregate having been elevated, the lever 18 isswung in the opposite direction of the movement communicated to thelever 13, the whole takes the position of the partial view of Fig. 2 andthe motortool aggregate is now held in its elevated position.

In this position tool 6 and cutter 7 can pass easily over the railways.

For elevating or for lowering the tools, the levers 13 and 18 are alwaysworked simultaneously. Compression spring 16 is provided as a retainingmeans to releasably hold the machine tool assembly in either itselevated or its lowered position.

The depth of cutting of the groove being established by the height ofthe cutter 7 in lowered position, means which are described below, areprovided to influence this position.

These means consist of lever 19, articulated on the upper frame at 20and a hand-Wheel 21 which moves it, in a way that the position of itsfree end 22, bearing on the casing of the motor, limits its downwardmovement to variable predetermined positions.

Note that the shape of the tool and its cutter allow the sleepers to begrooved on the spot by allowing the cutter to be passed under the flangeof the railway. In this way the railway track is never out ofcirculation and a removal of the rails is avoided.

What we claim is:

1. Apparatus for use in grooving the sleepers of a railroad roadbed andcooperable to ride on the rails of said roadbed comprising: a lowerframe assembly having rotatably mounted supporting wheels cooperable toengage the rails of the roadbed to support the apparatus so that it maybe shifted along the rails; an upper frame assembly superimposed uponthe lower frame assembly; means supporting the upper frame assembly onthe lower frame assembly so that it can shift transversely with respectthereto; a machine tool assembly including a motor and a vertical shaftoperatively connected thereto and having means for operativelysupporting a grooving tool adjacent the lower end thereof; a supportingstructure for supporting said machine tool assembly from said upperframe assembly and including a plurality of parallel links havingpivotal connection adjacent one end thereof with the upper frameassembly and pivotal connection adjacent the other end thereof with themachine tool assembly, said supporting structure including a lever typehandle connected to one of said links adjacent the pivotal connectionwith the upper frame assembly whereby the link may be pivoted to shiftthe machine tool assembly between an elevated inoperative position and alowered operative position; and a resilient retainer for releasablyretaining the machine tool assembly in either of said elevated orlowered positions including a compression spring having meansoperatively engaging the machine tool assembly at one end and meansoperatively engaging the upper frame assembly at the other end, saidspring and links being arranged so that they are substantiallyhorizontal when the machine tool assembly is in intermediate positionbetween elevated and lowered positions and so that they extend upwardlyat an angle when the machine tool is in elevated position and downwardlyat an angle when the machine is in lowered position with the verticalcomponent of force of the spring exceeding the horizontal component offorce when the machine tool assembly is in either elevated or loweredposition.

2. Apparatus for use in grooving the sleepers of a railroad roadbed asset forth in claim 1 in which the means operatively engaging the upperframe assembly is shiftable 4 in a vertical plane so that the verticalcomponent of force may be increased relative to the horizontal componentof force at the elevated and lowered positions.

3. Apparatus for use in grooving the sleepers of a railroad roadbed asset forth in claim 1 in which adjustable mcans are provided for limitingthe lowered operative position of the machine tool assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,021,400 Collet Mar. 26, 1912 1,427,516 Carman Aug. 29, 1922 1,830,977Banfer Nov. 10, 1931 2,527,668 Woolery Oct. 31, 1950 2,535,182 WeaverDec. 26, 1950 2,582,442 Lapp Jan. 15, 1952

